Software maker Adobe Systems' headquarters, the first building ever to receive a platinum rating from the U.S. Green Building Council, was pushed to the breaking point during the recent heat wave.
"Adobe has employed practically every high-tech energy-saving device known to reduce energy usage and consequently, its costs. The company has sprinklers that talk to weather satellites to determine if rain is predicted or if it's time to water. A central system tracks lights and water usage to determine what can be turned off or down to save resources.
But at 2 p.m. Monday, July 24, the triple-digit heat was at its worst and Adobe had emptied its bag of tricks.
'We used more electricity than we ever had. We hit levels we weren't supposed to hit for another five years,' [said Ted Ludwick, Cushman & Wakefield's assistant chief engineer for Adobe]. 'We had no chiller left and we were running out of power. It was drastic. We thought, what do we have left?'"
FULL STORY: Spaces and Places: Even Adobe's `green' building was blindsided by the heat
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